Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities
REACTIVE

EDITOR’S NOTE (07 May 2026): Amendments were made in the introduction and articles cited to reflect clarifications in this piece. 

QUEZON CITY, 06 May 2026 – In the midst of an energy crisis, marked by rising electricity prices and continued exposure to volatile global fuel markets—the real risk is not renewable energy, but the delay and barriers to scaling it.

Recent conversations surfaced on how nuclear energy is being “eyed to contribute to the local power generation mix by 2032.” In response, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) stressed:

“Statements like these miss the more urgent issue. The constraint is not in the availability of resources, but in the efficient integration of renewable energy to the country’s power mix. The Philippines has more than enough indigenous renewable energy to support an affordable, reliable, and secure power mix, drawing from its solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro resources. What the country needs is to modernize the grid, scale up energy storage, and strengthen system planning to manage variability. These actions are immediate, feasible, and recognized within existing policy and planning frameworks.

“Recent experience has already shown the risks of heavy dependence on coal and imported gas, driving price instability and supply vulnerability. Replacing one dominant source with another–from coal to nuclear– which is likewise centralized, capital-intensive, and import-dependent, only reproduces the same structural problem.

“Nuclear power is often positioned as a baseload solution, but the current energy system of the country is already heavily reliant on baseload capacity. Adding another inflexible baseload source will not improve reliability; it only risks increasing system rigidity and operational imbalance. What the grid requires now is flexibility, variable RE, complemented by storage and responsive systems that can meet peak and shifting demand. The idea that renewables need nuclear to be reliable misunderstands the direction of modern energy systems. Nuclear power is a high-risk, high-cost pathway that does not match the urgency of the crisis we face today. It takes decades to deliver, requires massive capital, and carries complex safety, regulatory, and waste management burdens with long-term consequences. It locks the country into an inflexible system and shifts financial and operational risks onto consumers. Advancing nuclear power now only diverts our scarce resources away from solutions that are already working and are ready to scale.

“ICSC maintains that the way forward is clear: scale up indigenous renewables; invest decisively in grid flexibility, distributed energy systems, and energy storage; and enable households and businesses to generate their own power. Anything less will only prolong high electricity costs, deepen energy insecurity, and ultimately deny Filipino households their right to accessible, affordable, and reliable energy.”

ABOUT
The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities is a Philippine-based non-governmental organization that advances climate, energy, and low-carbon solutions to enable fair and climate-resilient development at the national and international levels.

CONTACTS
Sanaf Marcelo, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63 968 886 3466, +63 917 149 5649
Pauline Alvarez, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63 999 338 9414

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